The present invention relates in general to audio and video information copy systems, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for automatically editing programs in an audio and video information copy system, in which programs of the same type or the same time among programs recorded at random are detected and copied. The present disclosure is based on the disclosure of Korean Patent Application NO. 92-13275 filed Jul. 24, 1992, which disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.
It is common that a recording/playback apparatus comprises a recording mechanism for recording video and audio information on a recording medium and a playback mechanism for playing back the recorded video and audio information from the recording medium. Generally, a video and audio information copy system has interconnected two recording/playback apparatuses (a deck for playback and a deck for recording), and is adapted to copy (or record) information recorded on one of the two recording/playback apparatuses onto the other recording/playback apparatus. The arrangement of the two recording/playback apparatuses in a single unit is referred to generally as a double deck recording/playback apparatus.
The recording medium of the recording/playback apparatus such as, for example, a video tape consists of a video track for recording and playing back the video information, an audio track for recording and playing back audio information and a control track for recording and playing back a reference signal for controlling the travelling speed and the phase of the playback mechanism and other driving operations. On the control track, binary information of xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d are recorded by one bit per two of the video tracks or one frame by means of, for example, N/S magnetic poles. In this case, the xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d binary information are regularly determined by a predetermined duty ratio.
Recently, various functions of the recording/playback apparatus have been developed. One of the developed functions is to search for a desired program among several programs recorded on the recording medium at a high speed, by varying the duty ratio of the control track. This function is embodied as a sort of video index search system (VISS) in which index information is recorded on certain points of the recording medium, the playback of a desired program is performed by retrieving the corresponding index information using a VISS control key and the recording/playback apparatus is turned into a PLAY mode (or EDIT mode in editing the program) standby state if retrieved.
However, the VISS is desirable in order to detect initial playback points of the multiplicity of programs recorded at random on the recording medium, but has a disadvantage in that it is inconvenient to successively copy a plurality of programs of the same type among the several programs recorded on the recording medium. Namely, in order to successively copy the plurality of programs of the same type among the recorded programs, the initial playback point must be detected every time by the VISS control, the PLAY mode must be performed to ascertain whether the program is to be copied, and the edit control must then be performed.
For example, assume that English conversation educational programs which are periodically watched at the same time slot every day are reserve-recorded by the week on the recording medium. Also, a different program may manually be recorded between the recorded English conversation educational programs on the same recording medium. Further, other programs which are periodically watched at a same time slot may be recorded on the same recording medium. In this case where the programs are recorded at random on the same recording medium, it is difficult to successively playback only the English conversation educational programs from the recording medium. In order to solve this problem, the recording medium must be exchanged whenever the corresponding program is recorded, so that the various programs are not recorded at random on the same recording medium, or only the English conversation educational programs must be detected from the various programs recorded at random on the same recording medium and then again recorded on a different recording medium, utilizing a copy function. However, in the former operation, it is inconvenient to exchange the recording medium whenever the program is recorded, and in the latter operation an inconvenience is caused since the copy of the programs must be performed by the search control and PLAY mode control as mentioned above.
Therefore, the present invention has been developed in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for automatically editing programs in an audio and video information copy system, in which programs of the same type or the same time slot among programs recorded at random can readily be detected and copied by coding a recording time of each program to be recorded and recording the coded recording time on a recording medium together with video and audio signals of each program.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, in a video and audio information copy system comprising a playback mechanism and a recording mechanism arranged in a single unit, said playback mechanism playing back video and audio signals recorded on a recording medium thereof, said recording mechanism recording video and audio signals applied from the outside or the video and audio signals played back by said playback mechanism on a recording medium thereof, there is provided a method of detecting and editing programs of the same type or the same time slot from programs recorded on the recording medium of said playback mechanism, comprising the steps of: selecting a program to be edited, using time information of said video and audio signals, said time information being recorded together with said video and audio signals in a recording mode; retrieving a program with time information of the program selected at the program selecting step from the programs recorded on the recording medium of said playback mechanism; and copying the program retrieved at the retrieving step on the recording medium of said recording mechanism.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, in a video and audio information copy system comprising a playback deck for playing back video and audio signals recorded on a recording medium thereof, a recording deck for recording video and audio signals applied from the outside or the video and audio signals played back by said playback deck on a recording medium thereof and a dubbing circuit for transferring the video and audio signals played back by said playback deck to said recording deck, there is provided an apparatus for automatically editing programs, comprising: memory means for storing time information of the video and audio signals recorded on the recording medium of said playback deck; picture display means for displaying said time information thereon; key input means for apply control commands and information to select programs of the same type or the same time slot to be edited, using the time information displayed on said picture display means; and system control means for controlling said recording deck, said playback commands and information from said key input means to retrieve and copy the selected programs from programs recorded on the recording medium of said playback deck.